Local
Older Gainesville Houses Change What a Deck Can Be
Raised floors and older wall assemblies make historic Gainesville a different deck market from the subdivisions west of town, and a more interesting one.
Field Notes
Deck field notes for Alachua County
The smaller questions that come up on these lots. How the wet season shapes a build calendar. What to do with the oak in the middle of the yard. Why a slab house changes the framing. And how hot a dark board gets on a July afternoon.
How To
Decking Around a Pool, and What Changes
Surface temperature, slip resistance and constant wet-dry cycling make a pool deck a different specification, even when the material looks identical.
How To
A Five Minute Check on an Older Deck
Four places to look and one tool to use. Guards, the ledger line, post bases and stairs account for nearly every serious defect found on an older deck.
Local
What Is Under Your Yard, and Why Footings Get Dug
Florida has no frost line, so deck footing depth is decided by finding ground that carries the post. Why the depth varies across a single Gainesville lot.
Local
Wind, Roofs, and Why Alachua County Is Not the Coast
Alachua County sets most residential design at 130 mph and is not in a wind-borne debris region. What that means for a deck, a pergola and a covered porch.
How To
Slab Houses and Why Your Deck May Be Freestanding
Most newer housing around Gainesville is slab-on-grade, so there is often no band joist for a ledger. Why freestanding is usually the better structure.
How To
How Hot a Dark Composite Board Really Gets Here
Surface temperature is where composite decking loses to wood in north Florida, and colour matters more than brand. What to expect on an unshaded lot.
How To
Building a Deck Around a Live Oak
Framing around an existing tree makes a better deck in a shaded Gainesville yard. How to size the opening, protect the roots, and check the tree rules first.
How It Works
The Wet Season Sets the Deck Calendar
Afternoon thunderstorms run on a near-daily rhythm through a north Florida summer, which changes how a deck build is scheduled and when the finish goes on.
Ready to put a number on the deck you have been picturing?
Call (352) 301-3643 or use the quote form for a free quote. A local deck company handles it from there.